HYDERABAD: Nearly a month and half after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Hyderabad acquitted five accused, including former RSS worker Swami Aseemanand, in the Mecca Masjid blast case of 2007, the NIA has decided not to go in for an appeal before a higher court. The MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the BJP saying it was a ‘’political decision.’’ Sources disclosed to Express that NIA is of the opinion that the special court’s verdict cannot be challenged in the absence of sufficient evidence.
NIA, in such a scenario, has been advised by its top brass not to appeal in a higher court. Hyderabad MP and MIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday called it a “political decision which confirmed that the Centre was using investigating agencies as pawns.” According to him, this is political decision to free Aseemanand and drew parallels to the CBI’s hesitation to challenge Amit Shah’s acquittal in Sohrabuddin encounter case, and the Ajmer blast case where the investigating agency chose not to appeal.
“Why the lack of evidence.. that is because the NIA pursued the case without intellectual veracity,” he added. Soon after the NIA special court judgment on April 16, NIA had then said that it will examine the court judgment after it gets a copy of the same, and decide further course of action. Amjed Ullah Khan of Majilis Bachao Tehreek, said, “This decision was expected. There has been a systemic degradation of NIA since BJP came to power.’’